1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a display control method, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Applications are registered as a series of processing flow by combining a plurality of tasks for documents held in an image processing apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral (MFP), and the registered series of processing flow can be executed by invoking thereof by a user. Accordingly, a combination of the processing which is frequently used can be executed without troublesome operations. In the specification of the present invention, a flow of a series of processing set up by combining a plurality of tasks is defined as a “processing flow”.
The term “task” refers to processing that can be executed with respect to document data, and is processing that can be realized by respective functions, mainly of an image processing apparatus having complex functions. For example, a task of the image processing apparatus can refer to scanning of originals, printing of document data, sending (e.g., electronic mails, faxes, files), storage into disks (storage into hard disks inside and outside of the image processing apparatus) or the like, but it is not particularly limited to these. Further, the term “document data” includes text data and image data.
In the processing flow, it is also possible to define the processing of a plurality of applications that can provide various tasks, in addition to the image processing apparatus that provides the above-described tasks. The applications can include applications operating on the image processing apparatus, and applications operating on an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC).
By including the tasks of the applications operating on a plurality of devices such as the image processing apparatus and the information processing apparatus and the like, the processing flow operates as a work flow. Once the processing flow has been created, a combination of various frequently-used tasks can be executed without cumbersome operations.
On the other hand, applications which can create the processing flow, by using a keyboard or a mouse of the information processing apparatus such as a PC is also provided. Since the keyboard or the mouse is used, such applications are superior in operability to those in which the processing flow is created by a user interface (UI) such as a touch panel of the image processing apparatus. However, even in such applications, there is a problem in operability.
Since the processing flow includes settings of various tasks, there are many parameters that the user needs to set. Generally, an application provides setting UI to have specified values of parameters so that the user can execute tasks even if the user does not change the parameters. Accordingly, the parameters that the user must set can be reduced.
However, regarding the parameters corresponding to environment of each user, the parameters to be set by the user cannot be reduced, since the tasks cannot be executed using the specified values. For example, the parameters include path to a server that sends the document data and authentication information for the server. In the processing flow, it is possible to include settings of tasks for sending the document data to a plurality of servers.
Further, as described above, tasks to be processed by various devices can be included in the processing flow. The paths to these devices become also necessary. Therefore, in the setting UI of an application, many input fields for setting parameters are displayed. However, due to this, it is difficult for the user to find the parameters that the user wants to set.
Further, since there are many parameters, it is difficult for the user to select an input field of a parameter that the user wants to set. Further, there is a problem in operability such that the user is likely to lose sight of the setting in the processing flow that is currently performed.
Japanese Patent No. 2549268 discusses a technique for allowing users to easily find data to be input by the user. In Japanese Patent No. 2549268, a user interface (UI) is divided into two panes (left and right sides), and on the left side, parameter names are displayed in a list in an alphabetical order.
On the right side, a plurality of input fields for performing settings of parameters is provided. When a parameter name of the list on the left side is selected by a user, an input field for setting the selected parameter is displayed in the pane on the right side. Accordingly, the user can easily find the data and select the input field.
However, in the above-described prior art, in a case of changing to another input field by a user's operation, in the pane on the right side, a selected position of the list of the pane on the left side does not vary in response to this operation. Therefore, in the case where the user checks the pane on the left side, after having selected another input field by performing operation of the pane on the right side, different parameters are selected between the pane on the left side and the pane on the right side.
Accordingly, in the case where there are many parameters to be set, the user is likely to lose sight of the parameter that the user is currently setting. Further, in the prior art, the parameters are only displayed in a list in the alphabetical order in the pane on the right side. With respect to the processing flow having a plurality of tasks with a structure such as a processing flow, the prior art cannot be applied to confirm the entire structure.